Local man sentenced for Facebook threat to 'shoot up' schools
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. - A man who threatened to shoot up schools if his gun rights were taken away after the Connecticut school massacre was sentenced Thursday to three months in jail.
The Skagit Valley Herald reports 19-year-old Korry Martinson of Sedro-Woolley pleaded guilty to felony harassment in an unusual plea agreement with prosecutors.
If a mental health evaluation indicates he could pose a danger to the community, the plea will remain. But, if the evaluation yields no concerns for future behavior, he could withdraw his felony plea and plead guilty to gross misdemeanor harassment instead.
Martinson made the threat on Facebook on Dec. 14, the same day as the mass school shooting in Newtown, Conn.
The threat was seen by several people, who reported it to the Sedro-Woolley police and the Skagit County Sheriff's Office.
Martinson's mother also was contacted by several callers. When she confronted her son about the posting, he got into an argument with her and took off before police arrived at his home.
Martinson finally turned himself in a few days later, when a friend brought him to the Sedro-Woolley police station. He was placed under arrest and booked into the Skagit County Jail for investigation of felony harassment.
A screenshot of the Facebook threat allegedly posted by Martinson said:
"Okay, so about that shooting of the little kids.
"I would personally like to thank the man who did this. You will (be) looked upon as a hero in my eyes. You have rid the world of 20 future s------- and w-----.
"I say good riddance, and that we need more people like you. It's the government's fault as to why these things happen.
"If this causes our gun laws to be taken away, to the point as to where I cannot own a gun, I will personally get my sawed off double barreled shotgun and my AK-47 and go shoot up every school within a 100-mile radius of my current location."
Lt. Lin Tucker of the Sedro-Woolley Police Department said the threats shook up many people in the community.
The Skagit Valley Herald reports 19-year-old Korry Martinson of Sedro-Woolley pleaded guilty to felony harassment in an unusual plea agreement with prosecutors.
If a mental health evaluation indicates he could pose a danger to the community, the plea will remain. But, if the evaluation yields no concerns for future behavior, he could withdraw his felony plea and plead guilty to gross misdemeanor harassment instead.
Martinson made the threat on Facebook on Dec. 14, the same day as the mass school shooting in Newtown, Conn.
The threat was seen by several people, who reported it to the Sedro-Woolley police and the Skagit County Sheriff's Office.
Martinson's mother also was contacted by several callers. When she confronted her son about the posting, he got into an argument with her and took off before police arrived at his home.
Martinson finally turned himself in a few days later, when a friend brought him to the Sedro-Woolley police station. He was placed under arrest and booked into the Skagit County Jail for investigation of felony harassment.
A screenshot of the Facebook threat allegedly posted by Martinson said:
"Okay, so about that shooting of the little kids.
"I would personally like to thank the man who did this. You will (be) looked upon as a hero in my eyes. You have rid the world of 20 future s------- and w-----.
"I say good riddance, and that we need more people like you. It's the government's fault as to why these things happen.
"If this causes our gun laws to be taken away, to the point as to where I cannot own a gun, I will personally get my sawed off double barreled shotgun and my AK-47 and go shoot up every school within a 100-mile radius of my current location."
Lt. Lin Tucker of the Sedro-Woolley Police Department said the threats shook up many people in the community.
If there's one person that should hang himself in jail, it's this guy.
If he is for real, he needs a prefrontal LOBOTOMY.
So, he's glad that 20 small children, one unborn baby and six adults were brutally murdered in cold blood, but it's the government's fault it happened, which implies it was something negative rather than something to celebrate.Â
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And if these 27 cold-blooded murders somehow inconvenience him, he'll run out and brutally murder a few dozen more innocent people, specifically targeting buildings filled with young children.Â
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Why do some of the best causes have the absolute dregs of humanity publicly supporting and representing them?Â
What a loser, he should really put his shirt back on.
Just the mere mention of guns has saved many lives of people I personally know, and if you are unarmed, it makes you an easier target to harass by people who know you canât do anything about it. (criminals, street thugs,gang-members
âGod made men, Samuel Colt made them equal.â -Old west proverb.
He'll probably be out getting a gun illegally in 3 or 4 months if not sooner. God help whoever is in his way when he comes out blazing with both barrels. This young man sounds like a powder keg ready to blow. I hope not, but I think we should look into this kind of behavior and see it for what it is. It's like a nest of hornets.
so why did this guy get off then? http://www.komonews.com/news/local/No-charges-for-alarming-Facebook-post-188296021.html
 @dogma22 Because it's not illegal to "wish harm" on someone. It IS illegal to threaten to COMMIT harm on another. Big difference. Both are in extremely poor taste.
One problem with this story, is the first two words in the article.... "A man". Â Not even close to accurate. Â
@Zoso i hope and pray that you are being sarcastic about thanking the person who shot and killed all those innocent childeren that day but if you are not then how dare you have the guts to even post something like this
Wow! Just wow! Can't say 3 months is enough! Yeah even I have to thank the guy for shooting up those kids; if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be having these endless gun control debates that will clearly go on forever, thanks to all these clueless people who rant on and on and who will never shut up, making it hard for the rest of us to get a moment's peace, not to mention having to deal with dirtbags like this. Yeah, thanks a lot pal!
AND... this is why the gun laws should be altered!! I don't understand people like this!!
@me How can they be altered so that people who own illegal guns will stop owning them?
 @jellyfish  Target ammunition. Guns without ammo don't work. The US currently has 3 years worth of ammo.
@me Do you think his guns are legal? Gun laws wouldn't stop this idiot.Â
Good!
Stupid!
He will not take this as a lesson learned, he has big issues and being locked up those issues will grow unfettered. He will come out of his time with a bigger chip on his shoulder than he already has. We will read about him again.
 @izwideopen so what is your solution? Bitching about something without offering a solution doesn't help.
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I sure am glad that his felony charge and time in jail means that his gun rights have been taken away. Reading his words, I know he will willingly accept that and will go on about a peaceful life upon his exit from jail. (sarcasm) Does this frighten the people that know him? I know I'd be really nervous about three months from now because he's not getting the kind of therapy/help that he may need while he's locked up.
 @jellyfish  Even if he becomes a convicted felon, he will easily be able to buy guns through private sales or at a gun show from a private seller.Â
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BTW, convicted felons can petition the state to get their gun rights back, and many win those challenges.Â
@lakeview I purposefully put (sarcasm) in my post. I don't believe that laws stop people like this from anything. (not sarcasm)
 @lakeview  Pretty sure though that this is a case where he wouldn't win the challenge, not considering the *reason* he became a convicted felon.
......? Bad judgement in post it, but looks like obvious freedom of speech to me.
 @Jalharad While freedom of speech *is* a key part of our constitution, there are some specific exceptions to it - for example, it is illegal to shout "fire" in a theater without cause, due to the high risk of someone getting seriously injured in the panic.  Speech that involves incitement, false statements of fact, obscenity, child pornography, threats, and speech owned by others are all completely exempt from First Amendment protections.  In this specific case, the threats were deemed felony harassment.  Here's how our state defines harassment:
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(1) A person is guilty of harassment if:
(a) Without lawful authority, the person knowingly threatens: (i) To cause bodily injury immediately or in the future to the person threatened or to any other person
(b) The person by words or conduct places the person threatened in reasonable fear that the threat will be carried out. "Words or conduct" includes, in addition to any other form of communication or conduct, the sending of an electronic communication.
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A person who harasses another is guilty of a class C felony if the person harasses another person under subsection (1)(a)(i) of this section by threatening to kill the person threatened or any other person.
@Jalharad -- While I agree he has the right to say whatever he likes, he does NOT have the right to threaten people. He should have stopped with the third paragraph. Everything after that was a clear threat, thus landing him in jail for three months. Which, in my opinion, the punishment fits the "crime."
 @Jalharad "obvious freedom of speech to me."
And the authorities have an OBVIOUS right to deal with people who think like this...
 @OrcasThunder  @Jalharad He's fishing for attention
 @Doxie  @TruthinAdverts  @Jalharad Someone who thinks in more than one dimension...
 @OrcasThunder  @TruthinAdverts  @Jalharad Yes.
 @TruthinAdverts  @Jalharad Which one? Jaiharad or the idiot this story is about?
Hard to tell if he's a credible threat or just an attention whore out for shock value. Either way, he forfeited his right to ever own a gun again by posting something that stupid and dangerous. Hopefully he is just an attention seeker and takes this as a lesson learned.
He should have been locked away for a hell of alot longer than 3 months. I can guarantee you, he will do something when he gets out... I just hope noone has to die at his hand.
 @The WA Mama Yep, you can bet we haven't seen the last of this putz. He is going to be out on the street with a HUGE chip on his shoulder in no time.
@Petwlkr Yes he will.
So he got into an argument with his mother and left the house. No mention of a father at all. These articles about young punk boys/men are all the same...
 @lakeview Yeah and I can hear him as he's walking out the door.................... M O M  !Â
Now that he lost his gun rights, will he follow through? He needs to be watched beyond the jail time.
 @Komo Dragon I think he was referring to the right to bear arms in general. Even he can't be stupid enough to believe they would let him legally obtain guns again after he threatened to use them on a school. I personally think he comes across as an attention whore, but I agree he should be watched regardless.
 @Dredd57 Certainly he meant the 2nd amendment, but now it's even worse, because he will be among the few that are disallowed. It's easy to get guns illegally, I would not be surprised if he was planning a revenge.
From crime to plea to sentencing in a little over a month? Â That must be some sort of record. Â A felony plea at that - OOPS, looks like you lost your gun rights anyway, buddy!
O M G! That has to be one of the scariest things I have ever seen! Not to mention how he just made himself the poster boy as to why we SHOULD take assault rifles OFF the available list of legal weapons to own. He needs to lose his right to own all guns at all ever.
@cm257n7 Yes, because taking them OFF the available list of legal weapons to own will make everyone stop owning them.
@cm257n7 No, this is a perfect example of how things should work. Scary face book page by a lunatic, witnessed and reported and appropriate law enforcement action taken. Shooting averted.
 @TheBronze  @cm257n7 fortunately this guy was "crazy-loud" and not "crazy-silent", but I suspect a vast majority of these folks put off the warning signs if family is paying attention and willing to act.
 @TruthinAdverts  @TheBronze  @cm257n7 Yup. Most of these "mass shooter" lunatics put out signs long before they commit their heinous acts. The real debate needs to be, instead of what guns to ban, which the answer should be, "none", is how can something be done when concerned friends and family bring up to authorities the signs they notice in that individual, and keeping that person from doing harm to others while not violating their rights.....THAT is the real can of worms here. How do you do that? If we focused our energy on that mental health aspect of the issue instead of the objects I think we'd find a lot more common ground and actually have momentum on solving this growing problem. Instead we have division and a lack of reasoned debate on both sides of this issue.
Good! Â I think 3 months is a little short and his ability to change his plea to a misdemeanor means he could buy firearms in the future. Â WTF? Â These are the type of things we should be looking for: Â unstable people saying and doing unstable things. Â He should be placed on a list of those NEVER to have legal access to firearms again, but this deal allows him to if the shrink doesn't think he poses a threat in the future. Â We need changes in our gun control laws to stop people like this, not enable them. Â
The irony is that his stupid message concerning any threat of taking away his gun rights led to the taking away of his gun rights. This man is seriously that stupid.
Most of the people that are locked up with him have kids.Hopefully he gets dealt some justice inside those small cells.He is an idiot and should have his right to bear arms taken away forever.
Here's a direct threat and the guy was charged as he should be. He should never have his right to own firearms restored. What a disgusting individual.